Japanese Reparations

The editorial “The Issue Is National Honor” fails to mention mitigating factors regarding the payment of $20,000 each to Japanese aliens and Japanese-Americans who went to relocation centers during World War II under the executive order issued by President Roosevelt and upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States.

(The reparations law), passed in 1988, calls for payment in 1990. The law is currently under review by the Justice Department because of lawsuits filed against this $2-billion “give-away” of taxpayer’s dollars.

Nor was there mention that in 1948 reparations were paid to some 27,000 families. These taxpayer dollars covered everything from a pair of boots to a fishing pole.

ROBERT M. GARRICK

Rear Admiral, retired, USNR